It was a chilly morning when we went
out, People looking at us as usual; we had our breakfast in Semiliguda itself
and proceeded towards the Nageswar Caves near Nandapur.
The Journey was pleasant, with the
fields covered with yellow Niger flowers, distant Blue Mountains, blue sky and
pleasant wind blowing, you feel as if the nature is singing lullaby to you.
This day of course I had the camera
in my hand and we took all possible time by clicking the photos.
Partha on the Top Left , Roads to Nandapur on the right top corner , Niger Flower fields at the bottom
It’s about 40kms from Semiliguda including
the twists and turns scenic roads via Nandapur.
We reached the footsteps of Naga
Caves around 10:30am and started the ascend . Naga Caves were about 4000ft
, where one can see the mystical caves and a plateau like surface above the
mountains . Exploring this was our main motive along with the view from 4k feet
above. The road was rocky but we expected to be better roads ahead, what
we got is more bad roads, there was literally no road. There was a grin when we
were riding up through these. We were enjoying the off road biking till it
started to get worse and it got even worse up ahead. We stopped at a point,
giving rest to our bullet, kissing it and taking pride in being a bullet owner.
Any other city bikes would have died a long ago in these hills but here we
are deciding to go on further. After the engines cooled off a
bit we started again, this time the road was even worse, we were driving on a
walkway made my walking over these hills where the stones were all drunk and
came down when the tires hit them. It was scary at a moment when my bike
started skidding, with the both the brakes applied, one leg on the ground and
the bike in first gear, it kept on skid till I got my leg on a solid rock,
though I was laughing but yes I was scared to not about me, but about my camera
and bike in case I lose balance and fall. There was visible tension in the face
of Partha when he saw me , it grew even bigger when I said my clutch wire seems
loose a little after .That was it , Suddenly the environment seemed pretty hot
for both of us , we decided to stop as moving further is like inviting more
danger .
Scenic and Dangerous - Road to Naga Caves
Naga caves were more 5kms to go in the uphill , we could have
trekked the distance but we dint wanted to be late on our schedule too i.e. go
to Deomali a plan which can't be jeopardized with . So we agreed
mutually to return back. We took a shed nearby and found a Lil stream too to
quench our thirst. The road was never made of asphalt but was a Kachha Road and
thanks to the recent rains it was washed up to the core left with the bare
essential mountain road. We heard some weird sounds of the jungle,
a Raptor up high in the air and what we dint wanted is to run into a Bear. It
took both of us to turn each bike towards our decent. Though we both had
different techniques for our descent i.e. I kept my engines off, ND Partha
didn’t, we tip topped with the bike till the end of the Ghats. A video on how we rode down .
P.S doesn't try this until you are
riding a Jcb. Btw we plan to trek the caves the next time we both are in
Koraput.
Partha Spent 6yrs of his childhood
in a place nearby called Padua. We went in there to make him Nostalgic about
the place and relive his childhood memories. He showed me the place where he
lived, where he studied, played, hang out and even attend the social gathering
parties (an oil British bungalow now in almost ruins). Yes also saw the Yellow
billed Babbler (a bird endemic to the southern India only) which has such a
sweet voice.
Anyways were back from Nandapur soon. We reached Semiliguda around
2. We were actually late for deomali. Initially Partha had called his friends
to accompany us to the mountains but none came up. We waited for Siddu
(Partha’s younger brother) but he was late, waiting for him would have made us
more lately which we dint wanted.
Yellow Billed Babbler @top left , Scenery Surrounding the British Bungalow (Bottom)
"After all it’s you and me buddy
-let's go." I said.
Flash Back
I won't eat anything, I won't be vomiting in an empty stomach right?
I won't be staying empty stomach, that would make me vomit!
Where are my medicines? I want two of
them, that won't make me vomit .
It's handy, keep two-three poly-bags in
case one feels sick .
The above lines are pretty gross I know but these were the sort of conversations that used
to happen when people were about to travel the Sunki and Salur ghats. Don't know if it was because of the altitude or the driving that
made the people vomit .
During the monsoon , the view of the distant mountains.
But the scenery's from these ghats are breathtaking. One should visit them in
the monsoon time; the clouds, the fogs the road and the drizzles making the road look
painted as black. The distant mountains, the greenery and the streams flowing one can enjoy a lot more if he could cope up with his fears. The risks in the ghat roads are numerous; shooting stones, landslides, blind
turns. If you don't pay attention while driving, well you can very
well reach the bottom of the mountains very soon .
An old Record shot during the monsoon :D
Day 2
The alarm went blaring when it was 6 AM . I dint care to snooze, I
switched it off instead. After all we are on a holiday. Don't know about Partha
but after he silenced his phone he reverted back to his snoring. We planned
to leave Brahmapur as soon as possible around 6, but we managed to get our body
moving at 8. We searched near the bus stand to relish local South Indian
tiffin. Idli , Poori , Upma with tasty Sambhar (don't know why even the costliest restaurants in Bhubaneswar fail to provide the taste and quality in this
department) followed by a hot tea . I was searching for cobbler to do a stitch
work on my woodland shoe. This shoe of mine has been my trip partner since 7 yrs and
no I'm not a miser to buy a new shoe but I am not comfortable in any other shoes
than this. Plus it matches with my leather brown jacket which I wore in the
trip :D. The stitch work was done And we headed back to our lodge. After
checking out, we tied our bags with the bungee cords tied hard into nooks and corners
of the bullet back seat. It's wasn't an easy job to tie those cords, and one has
to be absolutely sure that they won't fall up in the ride, because if it does the
consequences could be devastating. Anyways we did make sure they won't fall off
by punching hard into the bags, checking their stability.
The lodge owner came out to bid us farewell, asking questions out of curiosity, where are you going this and that and finally concluded that we were in search
of adventures or sort. We were out of Brahmapur town soon and stopped at the
nearest Petrol pump to fill the tanks .
Near the Petrol Pump_ Clicked by a random smoker near the shop :P
Probably Spot Billed Pelicans
Finally we started our journey towards Koraput around 10 AM IST running 4 hrs late from our scheduled departure no more than 300 kms away from our destination , after all its Indian Stretchable time :D. On
the second day journey we were more confident. The level of anxiety had come
down and wasfilled with eagerness to
reach our destination as soon as possible. We tested the very name of The Royal Enfield, Made like guns, goes
like Bullet. The road was almost as straight as an arrow, with no traffic, clear
weather with perfect temperature what else does one need to enjoy the highway?
Cruising went along and we tried to make our individual landmark records on the
RE, 100 was the average speed this time and we barely came low on the acceleration. After a hundredodd kilometers we
decided to rest our bikes and have some water (which we weren't carrying), the
place was somewhere in Andhra Pradesh. This was the place where
Partha spotted Pelicans (probably spot billed). And it was his idea to swap
the bikes up to till we reach Srikakulam which was about 100 odd km from there. We rested for about 20 mins there and started the journey again after we
exchanged the bike. We reached Srikakulam toll gate around 12 noon. If anyone is taking a road trip to Koraput via Andhra, then remember to
continue straight on the highway from Srikakulam (without taking left to
enter the city) towards the next toll gate you find, where you have to
take the right to enter the Rajam Road. It was
quite an individual felt that we covered so much in so less time, but this part
of the journey was painful for the four of us , that's me Partha and our both RE. Both Partha and I felt pain in our back and waist due to the driving. We sat
on our respective bikes and came to a
conclusion that swapping is never a good idea be its the bike or wives :D. My bike refused to Self start and I kept on apologizing that I won't repeat this again but no avail. The battery was down and
I couldn't figure out why it happened. After all the battery recharges itself
in a long run but here it was low as zero watt bulb. Kick made the job and the bike started and Partha said we can do a check up at Jeypore. We were 70 kms away from Rambhadrapuram the junction where we had planned to have
our lunch.
It was around 1:30 pm when we reached Rambhadrapurm. Stomachs growling like the engines, we parked our rides in front of the hotel and every eye was looking at us. We grabbed the window seats to keep a look at our luggage. Partha fulfilled his last night wish to eat Biryani, I was more interested in slurping a plain meal with Sambhar and Rasam (unlimited :D). I asked Partha to eat the Biryani with Sambhar. Initially he was skeptical but liked the taste I guess in the last. We eat till our neck and were in no mood for driving. We searched and found a perfect place under a tree with cemented slabs, birds chirping around, the perfect place to lie down. Partha wanted to rest for 5 mins but it was another 30 mins after which we started again.
We Reached Salur Soon and it was time for us to face the ghats. With music bud plucked in my ears, I was enjoying the scenery and the songs. I asked for the blessing from the deity at the start of the ghats. In India almost before every ghat road there is a temple where people seek blessings for their safety. It's basically a matter of belief and depends purely on an individual basis and faith though. Partha was far ahead of me. He took out his camera for clicks. Mine was dug deep in the dungeons of my bag, plus its very uncomfortable to hold an SLR while driving where the lens manages to get banged to the tank of the vehicle. The sun was at its ease and was gradually painting the surrounding golden. The song in my playlist came up "Kesharia Balaam .. Aao Padharo Maare Desh .." Was just perfect to boost up my good feeling.
View of the Ghats , click By Partha
After all I was driving all alone up to these ghats in a bike, a wish that I had since my childhood and no I didn't vomit at all. Partha was my man, he clicked with many photos, including me and yes I returned the favor too with a video of his riding in the ghats. Would share the link soon :) ***** . My Mom asked me to stay careful and yet I was here driving the ghats in one hand. I know it was kinda stupid but who cares, I'm safe after all .
Partha and the Bandana
Partha's love with the camera and the scenery's continued till it was dark and we stopped for a tea at Pottangi, which is about 35 kms from Semiliguda our destination for day 2. The tea had a peculiar flavor don't know if it was the cow's milk or others, but I dint enjoyed it. Anyways, the gates were over and as we moved towards semiliguda. We were greeted by the cold waves that we were missing for long.
Reached Semiliguda around 6 pm , and searched for a hotel. I used to live in Sunabeda which is about 3 kms from there and had a bit knowledge about Semiliguda. If one is looking for a good hotel with good food then Hotel Lemon Castle would be the perfect choice for you . If you are on budget , hotel CnC is just fine in which we stayed .
After throwing our bags in the room, I took Partha for a city ride of Sunabeda and some evening snacks. We both agreed Sunabeda should be seen in the daylight. We saw a bird that was very uncommon there. Black, glossy, with long beaks. Before we could identify it flew away. We searched our field books later on but couldn't get to a conclusion. I also took Partha to the HAL museum, where one Flying Coffin (MIG-21) was resting in peace, with the museum contained historical picture's of the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited factory Photos.
We went back to Semiliguda. I demanded to have some soup to enjoy the cold weather. Sadly the restaurant in CnC was crowded like a trade fair with family's were dining like the serials of Ekta Kapoor. The decibel level was high and no we didn't enjoyed this time. After we gulped down the soup we decided to have our dinner in our room only, for we dint had the patience and ears to hear those loud laughs. The room service delivered the food within 30 mins. We ate our food happily with the sweets old songs going on in the TV and slept off.
So finally I'm squeezing out some time to write down the experience of my maiden bike trip to the green lands of Koraput. I don't know if I could describe the place in my words or not , but it was one of the most beautiful places that I ever visited in my lifetime yet . The Koraput I'm talking about is the undivided district in the southern part of my state Odisha , The land of Green , Mountains , scenery's and jungles . Steps to the Plunge
You know I want to take my bullet to the mountain tops of
Deomali " said Partha .
When I bought my bike buddy , I wanted to ride my bike up to
those landstoo, I said
What say you , shall we go??Wish you had a Bullet frowned Partha .
As a matter of fact I do , A Thunderbird Royal Enfield
of my bro which he hardly uses . Lets plan this then " Partha said with a Grin .
That was the start of our tour planning , over a cup of tea and
some snacks near our office .Partha had
made the route map of the southern odisha Odyssey , including the budget for
fuel and other expenses . I want to tell you all that without him this tour wouldn't have been possible and
I owe every bit of the experience to him . It was a little hard to convince my
family members for me to go on this tour , added to the woe that I have been ill
since a few days before the tour , but how can I submit to the illness of mine to my long held
dream. My hormones were high and my family members could do little to persuade
me about not going on this tour .
Day 1
Datz me with my Bullet nd My bagpack (which looks like i have stuffed by dead wife in it :D)
Partha Babu with his Get up
In the last week of
October , we started our journey on 27th evening .There was a feeling of fear and anxiety within
both of us , but was all covered up with smiling faces because we were
finally going to live in our dream .We packed
our bags to our RespectiveRE (Royal Enfield)
. Partha has a RE Classic 350 which has the same engine of mine but different in
design . Anyways after Seeking blessing of my mom and hugging her tight I said I
would be back soon well and fine . She bids farewell with her watery eyes , of
course the concern was there, over
1500km drive on a bike , to a place infamous for Naxals , roads were bad (which
she thought ) , her kid was ill for many days , plus why a bike , why do you
want to go on a bike , why don't you take the bus , hire a cab and move around there
. It would have been out of the budget was my simple answer , how can I expect
herto understand the feel of riding a
bike on the roads I love . We filled our tanks near the petrol pump near Khandagiri , where my buddy Tanuja
came to see me off . She had watery eyes too , notcause of
me going away on a tour but on me going ona tour without taking her :P ( she would probably kill me if she reads
this , probably which she would do :D ) Anyways jokes apart she is after all
one of my most trusted buddies with genuine concern for me :). 20kms away from home we stopped near a toll gate before khurdha to have tea
, the twilight hours are probably the worst time to ride , with insects colliding
to your visor and one lucky bastard gets lucky to bite you in your eyes too, so a
stoppage was necessary . Near the gates , people were staring us like we were
aliens from another planet .All curious to know , where we came from and where
we want to go ( this thing continued to happen until we reached back Bhubaneswar
again ) .
We had been warnedfor night driving on the highway for the Bhubaneswar to Berhampur route
due to the suddendiversions and the
plight of trucks that drive like need for speed cars during the night time ,
which we had concerns too .We initially
thought to drive slow , but the conditions of the road were much better than
that of driving conditions in Bhubaneswar city traffic at night . We cruised
with a speed around 100km/hour with a minimum Avg. Speed of 80.We stopped by the Chilika Ghats before Rambha
, the last highest viewpoint where we can see the chilika lake . We reached
Brahamapur around 9 PM and searched for Nandan lodge that we had booked earlier . I found it pretty
confusing there , every other street had a shop/hotel named Nandan . My friends
from Brahamapur might put some light on this matter I guess . More than 30mins
drive from the highway to the lodge , damn this drive was more painful than the
180kms drive from Bhubaneswar . The room was ok more like the creepy Honeymoon
suite from the 1960 with an LCD TV . We threw our bags and went out to have our
dinner . Partha was interested to have Biriyani , but I wanted to have
sometandoori Roti with some curry
, finally we went to the famous Girija restaurant in Brahamapur . We sat inside
one of his cabins accompanied by pretty girls with one family , needless to say
we don't mind their chattering as long as they gave a glance at us with a smile
. We both were wondering whom were they actually looking at ( a censoredguys stuffshere , and yes out the Water Well , every fair frog do look beautiful to a toad
:P ) . We charged upon the Tandoori Nan ND Chicken Curry like hungry dogs , the
curry was too yummy , and forgot to mention the famous chicken pakodas for
which Girija was famous for.Also
the Caramel Pudding as dessert was yum Yum . It has an overdose of scents but I
dint mind as the pudding was as soft as cotton .We headed back towards our room , parked our
bikes inside the garage of the lodge , and slept early as preparation for our next
day journey ahead.
P.S: - there was a safe distance between
two of us :P .
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